Describing Spaces: Topologies of Interlace in the St Gall Gospels

The ways in which ideas of the book intersect with notions of space are manifold from Antiquity onwards. As vessels of ideas and knowledge, books and their use invited spatial metaphors based on notions of collecting and storage which were closely bound to the idea of memory.1 The notion of the book as space surfaces in metaphors of the book as a garden, library or building throughout the Middle Ages. For Christian writers, notions such as the ‘inner library,’ the heart as a library of Christ are central, and they pervade patristic texts.2 Accordingly, the metaphorical realm of books connects the book and the body, and is not necessarily spatial in a dimensional sense. It goes beyond the specific object of scroll or codex, aiming instead at the texts and their use and reception

Still minding the gap? Reflecting on transitions between concepts of information in varied domains

This conceptual paper, a contribution to the tenth anniversary special issue of information, gives a cross-disciplinary review of general and unified theories of information. A selective literature review is used to update a 2013 article on bridging the gaps between conceptions of information in different domains, including material from the physical and biological sciences, from the humanities and social sciences including library and information science, and from philosophy. A variety of approaches and theories are reviewed, including those of Brenner, Brier, Burgin and Wu, Capurro, Cárdenas-García and Ireland, Hidalgo, Hofkirchner, Kolchinsky and Wolpert, Floridi, Mingers and Standing, Popper, and Stonier. The gaps between disciplinary views of information remain, although there has been progress, and increasing interest, in bridging them. The solution is likely to be either a general theory of sufficient flexibility to cope with multiple meanings of information, or multiple and distinct theories for different domains, but with a complementary nature, and ideally boundary spanning concepts

ASLIB

ASLIB was, from 1924 to 2010 an independent membership organisation for special librarianship, technical and commercial information work, and latterly for information management, It was highly influential in the development of documentation and information science, in the UK and worldwide. Its activities included research and consultancy, training, professional development, publishing, and technology development. Aslib was for many years the de facto UK centre for information research, especially information and library management, information orgnaisation and computer applications. It has had several names, being at times the Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux, Aslib, the Association for Information Management, and ASLIB. In 2010, ASLIB became a part of Emerald Group Publishing, and activities ceased in 2016

Information Overload: An Overview

For almost as long as there has been recorded information, there has been a perception that humanity has been overloaded by it. Concerns about 'too much to read' have been expressed for many centuries, and made more urgent since the arrival of ubiquitous digital information in the late twentieth century. The historical perspective is a necessary corrective to the often, and wrongly, held view that it is associated solely with the modern digital information environment, and with social media in particular. However, as society fully experiences Floridi's Fourth Revolution, and moves into hyper-history (with society dependent on, and defined by, information and communication technologies) and the infosphere (a information environment distinguished by a seamless blend of online and offline information actvity), individuals and societies are dependent on, and formed by, information in an unprecedented way, information overload needs to be taken more seriously than ever. Overload has been claimed to be both the major issue of our time, and a complete non-issue. It has been cited as an important factor in, inter alia, science, medicine, education, politics, governance, business and marketing, planning for smart cities, access to news, personal data tracking, home life, use of social media, and online shopping, and has even influenced literature The information overload phenomenon has been known by many different names, including: information overabundance, infobesity, infoglut, data smog, information pollution, information fatigue, social media fatigue, social media overload, information anxiety, library anxiety, infostress, infoxication, reading overload, communication overload, cognitive overload, information violence, and information assault. There is no single generally accepted definition, but it can best be understood as that situation which arises when there is so much relevant and potentially useful information available that it becomes a hindrance rather than a help. Its essential nature has not changed with changing technology, though its causes and proposed solutions have changed much. The best ways of avoiding overload, individually and socially, appear to lie in a variety of coping strategies, such as filtering, withdrawing, queuing, and 'satisficing'. Better design of information systems, effective personal information management, and the promotion of digital and media literacies, also have a part to play. Overload may perhaps best be overcome by seeking a mindful balance in consuming information, and in finding understanding

Healthcare libraries in Saudi Arabia: Analysis and recommendations

Purpose – The paper aims to gain a detailed understanding of the current health library/information environment in Saudi Arabia, to identify problems, issues, and areas for improvement, to make recommendations for improvement, and to instantiate these in models and prototypes. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method empirical approach is used in 11 health libraries, including literature survey, institutional profiling, questionnaire, interviews, non-participant observation, and examination of documents. A model for supporting change management in Saudi health libraries is proposed, and a prototype for a Saudi Health Information Network is developed. Findings – The healthcare libraries are well-used, and appreciated by their users, and the staff are generally satisfied with their work. Problems and issues are identified: use of information communication technologies and digital resources; lack of proactive information services; education, training and continuing professional development for health library work; limited strategic planning and policy for these services. Recommendations are made for improvements. Research limitations/implications – The empirical research is limited to health sciences libraries in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The prototype health information network has not been evaluated by users. Practical implications – Recommendations are made to enable the government of Saudi Arabia and its various agencies to support improvements in the existing health sciences libraries and information provision. Originality/value – This is a detailed study of the health library environment in Saudi Arabia, illustrating factors typical of the situation in many other countries. The paper outlines a novel organisational change model and prototype national health information network

Sharing knowledge and information, three views of the future

This paper considers the ways in which library/information services can contribute to the sharing of knowledge over the next two decades. It builds on the imaginative thoughts of several commentators who have considered future scenarios, while including the implications of recent events. These latter include the current world economic problems, which are already affecting library/information services, sometimes in surprising ways. They also include the result of the steady move towards a largely digital information world. Within this, we should note particularly the introduction of 'cloud' computing, which offers a way to share knowledge and information, as well as music, movies and so on, 'on demand', avoiding the idea of 'ownership' or 'collection'. Three possible views of the future are presented. The first is a continuation of the current situation, with library/information services continuing, and perhaps growing in importance, in something very similar to their current form. The second is a change to the current situation, with some forms of library/information service diminishing, or even disappearing, and others expanding, and changing their nature considerably. The third, and most radical, sees the disappearance of most current forms of library/information service, and their replacement by a very different 'information landscape.' The likelihood of these views prevailing, and their consequences for library / information specialists, and for the sharing of knowledge generally, are discussed

The dark side of documentation?

The tendency of information users to rely on abstracts, summaries, and other out-of-context ‘snippets’ is considered. The response to this, which may include an emphasis on meaning-in-context and on understanding, will determine the immediate future of the information disciplines

Smoother pebbles and the shoulders of giants: the developing foundations of information science

Some developments in the information science discipline over a period of 30 years are discussed, by selecting topics covered in the early issues of Journal of Information Science, and tracing their influence on subsequent developments, largely though by no means exclusively through JIS papers. Five main themes are covered: the information discipline per se; the foundations of that discipline; the nature of information; relations between discipline and profession; and education for information science. The continuing resonance of the writings of Farradane and Brookes is noted